The Wedding
by KaySmithly
Summary: Just a little thing about Harry and Ginny's wedding, including stuff before the ceremony. This will probably only be 3-4 chapters. This is my first fanfiction on  so be gentle!
1. Chapter 1

Ginny smiled up at the ceiling of her old bedroom, already awake. Her mother would come in soon to rouse her, not yet knowing that she had been woken up by the early morning sun streaming through her window and the pleasant knowledge that she would be married that day. All of the preparations had been taken care of, her mother had seen to that, and she knew that the day would unfold as planned, so she lay in bed undisturbed and unworried. _Ginevra Potter,_ she thought with a bright smile, excitement crushing over her in a wave.

A light knock came, preceding the appearance of her mother's smiling face around the door jam. "Hello, Ginny dear," she cooed as she had ever since the healer had placed the squalling infant Ginny in her arms. The thought made her eyes water, her youngest child, marrying.

"Hello," Ginny smiled back, noticing the tears that her mother was blinking rapidly away. It made a lump rise in her throat, seeing her mother like that and knowing that these brushed away tears were only the first of several that day.

"Excited?" Her mother pushed, walking in and perching on the edge of her daughter's bed, brushing Ginny's red hair off of her forehead, "Nervous?"

Ginny nodded, "Excited, mostly. It feels like it's been a long time in coming," she reflected, smiling. Even though she was only twenty-one and her husband-to-be only twenty-two, it did feel like she had been waiting for this day to come for too long.

Her mother nodded, "Too soon, for me, dearie." She waved away her daughter's objections before Ginny had time to speak them, "I know, I know. It's Harry, and I love him and I love you two together and I know that you'll be fine but you're my youngest and—" her voice cracked and she patted her eyes with a handkerchief that she pulled out of the pocket of her apron. She laughed shakily, "Not even seven yet, and I'm already crying. That's enough of that, isn't it, hmm? We have a wedding to get ready for."

With that she patted her daughter's cheek and got up, gesturing for the younger woman to follow after her.

After making sure that Ginny and her small bridal party (Hermione and Luna) were fed, Mrs. Weasley left the burrow with her young adoptive grandson Teddy on her hip and large batch of hangover help potion. She arrived at number 12, Grimmauld Place shortly after, having disapperated nearby. She let herself in, knowing that nobody inside would be awake, and deposited Teddy on a couch in the living room opposite her own passed-out husband. She made a note to speak to him later, but for now she had more important things to do.

She knocked on the door of the master bedroom, and receiving no reply, entered. There she saw both her youngest son, Ron, and the groom, Harry asleep, fully clothed and above the covers. She rolled her eyes, and walking inside, saw that Neville Longbottom also lay on the ground by the foot of the bed, an empty bottle a few inches from his outstretched hand.

She prodded Harry rather ruthlessly in the shoulder and watched, amused, as he struggled with waking, mumbling,"Just go, Ginny, I'll see you when I get home." She poked him again, harder, and he opened his eyes, intent upon yelling at his girlfriend for being so mean to him, when he realized that the foggy image before him wasn't quite the right shape to be Ginny. He reached for his glasses on the bedside table and pushed them onto his face, his head pounding.

"Mrs. Weasley," he groaned, rubbing his temples. He glanced around, and seeing Ron's form beside him, his confusion didn't abate. "Oh, my head."

"I'm sure," she replied dryly, a smile barely turning up the corners of his mouth. "My sons seem to have that effect on people."

A thought seemed to occur to Harry as he listened to Mrs. Weasley speak, "Where's Teddy?"

Teddy had stayed at The Burrow the night previous, at Mrs. Weasley's prodding. She had known better than Harry had where that night was going to end up for him and her sons, and had decided that Teddy should have no part in it, even as a witness. "Downstairs, sweetie," she replied, waving away his concerns as her heart swelled slightly at his worry. He was taking to the whole "parenting" thing better than anyone had expected when he had told Andromeda the year previous that he wanted to take Teddy on fulltime. She had known that he would do fine, and was quite proud of the fact that he was, in fact, doing quite well. "He's still asleep, actually, I just left him on the couch, with my husband." That being said, she poked her son in the shoulder with her wand, asking conversationally as she woke him, "Where are my other sons?"

Harry shrugged, feeling nauseous, "I have no idea." There were more than enough bedrooms in the house to accommodate all of them, "Percy went home sometime last night. I remember that."

She rolled her eyes, shaking Ron roughly, who squinted before waking fully, complaining of his head. "There's hangover-help downstairs, dear," she said to Harry, moving to shake Neville rather roughly from his sleep on the floor.

"Why did you come over anyway?" He asked, sitting up with a great deal of effort. "Not that I don't appreciate it," he added, seeing her eyes swivel up to him.

"I wanted to be sure that you lot got up and moving on time," she explained as Neville woke with a great deal of grumbling, "I thought that this might be what I found."

"I did set an alarm," Harry mumbled, standing and toddling to the door. Checking his watch, he saw that they still had an hour left before the alarm that he had set would have gone off. Clearly, Mrs. Weasley thought that getting prepared for a wedding took longer than Harry had figured.

"Mhmm," Mrs. Weasley replied, nudging Neville again, "Yes, perhaps, but getting you lot moving will take more than that, I'm sure."

Harry nodded, and feeling the pain that began ricocheting off the sides of his skull immediately regretted it. Beside him, Ron lurched for the door and could be heard running towards the bathroom down the hall. Harry would have chuckled if he was in a better position to do so.

Ten minutes later Harry, Ron, Neville, George, Bill and Charlie all sat around the scrubbed wooden table in the basement kitchen of number twelve grimmauld place, all nursing rather rough hangovers. Usually, Mrs. Weasley would have left them to suffer, but being that there _was_ a wedding that needed to go on, she poured them each liberal amounts of hangover help before bustling around the kitchen, quickly preparing breakfast. Kreacher stood in the shadows of the kitchen, trying to be helpful, but still unsure of himself around the ever-expanding Weasley clan. The few times that they had all been around since Harry's return to the house he had been awkward and had difficulty keeping from his old habits. Harry had told him, repeatedly, that he was not to call anyone a blood traitor, and that if it came to the point where he absolutely had to say something insulting, that he was just to leave the room. So, when any of the Weasleys were around (except Ginny and Ron who he was quite accustomed to) he tended to lurk upstairs.

Teddy wandered into the kitchen a few minutes later, followed by a drowsy, flustered looking Mr. Weasley. Teddy looked around the table, and seeing his usual chair occupied by George, simply walked over to Harry and crawled into his lap, the four-year-old too tired to be embarrassed by his affectionate nature. Harry swallowed the rest of his hangover help and grimaced, it tasted foul but he quickly felt the effects of it spreading through him, and perked up noticeable afterwards.

Mrs. Weasley put a plate down in front of George, who glanced at the eggs and bolted for the bathroom. They all tried to politely ignore his puking noises, though Ron, now fully recovered because of his mother's skill with household potions, snickered quite a bit. Mr. Weasley looked like he might follow in George's footsteps until his wife pressed a glass of potion into his hand with a tight smile. "Drink a bit too much, dear?" She asked sweetly.

"Maybe," he returned her smile, drinking the potion quickly, "I'm not quite as… resilient as I used to be."

George returned to the table and drank his glass of potion in one gulp before sitting down again and pushing his eggs away, to be dealt with later, and putting his head back on the table with a dull moan. Teddy tugged on Harry's sleeve and asked, "Is Uncle George sick?" He sounded very concerned, George was Teddy's second favorite uncle, right after Ron. He always snuck him sweets and let him run amuck in the shop.

George looked up at Teddy, his complexion clearing up, "Getting better, bud. Never drink."

Teddy looked at him, wide-eyed and nodded. He took every word of what his red-headed sort of uncles said as law. Harry laughed and tickled the toddler, who squealed and giggled, writhing around on his godfather's lap as Mrs. Weasley set a plate in front of the toddler and looked at the pair affectionately. She was so happy that he was finally becoming a _real_ part of the family. But glancing around the table at all of her men, well most of her men (Percy had gone home to his and Audrey's flat and wouldn't come back until later in the day) she knew that Harry had always been part of the family, ever since the first time that he had walked in her door. The thought made her misty-eyed again.

"Oh, mum!" Ron exclaimed, spying his mother's impending tears. "It's not even eight yet!" The rest of the table swiveled their eyes to look at the teary woman, who was clutching a wooden spoon to her chest and looking quite like a mess.

"Oh, shut up, Ronald!" She said with a chuckle, "I'm allowed to be a bit emotional today." She cleared her throat, and in a much steadier voice she began reading a list of chores to be done by the men present before the ceremony was to begin. There were a series of groans from the men at varying intervals as the work was divvied out, all of it was work to be done in the yard of the burrow, last minute setting up. No one was to go inside while the women were still preparing. "And the tent people will be by the burrow in about an hour. Arthur you need to be there when they arrive," she glanced over the list again, trying to see if she had neglected anything. "And you must all be an hour early to the ceremony, for photos, and be entirely presentable."

Ron looked at Harry and Neville in astonishment, throughout the long list of chores none of their names had been called. "Well, that's good luck, isn't it?"

"Ron," Mrs. Weasley said in a tone of mock disapproval, "You do have a job. You three," she pointed to Ron, Neville and Harry, "Are in the wedding, that means that you _have_ to be there. You're job is to get there, all of you, in one piece, and with _him_," she gestured to little Teddy, now busily eating his godfather's breakfast, "in tow."

"Wait, wait, wait," George said, now feeling much better, "does that mean that _we_," he gestured to the rest of the table, "Don't have to be there? If we _didn't_ show up, you would just go on with the whole thing?"

"Well," Mrs. Weasley responded, with a look on her face that dared him to name something she _wouldn't_ do to see her youngest safely down the aisle that day, "your father _has _to be there too, doesn't he? He's walking your _sister_ down the aisle."

With that she kissed each of the men on the scalp, bending a little to afford her husband a chaste kiss on the lips, and then quickly flooed home to make sure that the women were on track.

"Blimey," George said in a revelatory tone, "You're marrying my baby sister today, aren't you?"

Harry laughed, "I wasn't keeping it a secret."

"No, I know," George said in a serious mood that they had rarely seen since Angelina had entered his life, "It's just… different. She's our only sister, you know, I don't know how I feel about handing her over to a specky git like you." The last bit was tacked on to add some levity to the statement, but it felt forced.

"Well," Harry said, standing up with Teddy balanced expertly on his hip, "I suppose you should have mentioned that a while ago. It's a bit late to call everything off, don't you think?"

This elicited a few chuckles from around the table but Mr. Weasley shook his head solemnly, "Don't let my wife hear you even joking about that." Harry shook his head, waving his wand to collect the plates in midair and depositing them in the sink behind him, Teddy watching in awed delight.

"Harry," Teddy said, quite seriously, "You and Ginny are getting married today?" He stumbled over his r's quite noticeably and Harry kept a straight face with difficulty, adjusting Teddy on his hip, the toddler reached up to clamp his hands around his godfather's neck as he moved, so that he was less jostled.

"Yes," Harry told him, leaning against the sink where the dishes were washing themselves. "Remember the rehearsal the other day? It's going to be just like that, except for real this time." The toddler nodded again, very solemnly.

"And I'm going to hold the rings?" He sounded excited and perhaps a bit nervous. They had been over this a few times before, and Harry knew that Teddy took his responsibility very seriously.

"If you think you can," he told Teddy as George and Mr. Weasley passed him, both patting his shoulder before continuing on to floo home. "I can always have Ron do it, I suppose, but he wouldn't look nearly as good in the photos with Victoire."

Ron snorted, reaching for a muffin from a basket in the middle of the table and taking a large bite, "That's true enough. Bit of a height difference isn't there?"

Teddy nodded again, "I can do it, Harry."

Harry chuckled, setting Teddy down on the counter and looking the toddler in the eye, "I know you can, Ted. In a few minutes, I'm going to give you a bath and you are going to stay clean _all day."_

"_All_ day?" He asked, looking up at his godfather with large eyes. Clearly he had underestimated his ring-bearer duties.

"Yes, we want to look nice for Ginny, right?" Harry asked, knowing that this was exactly the right question. Harry might be Teddy's favorite person, and his grandmother might be a close second but Ginny definitely ranked in the top five. He would do anything to garner her approval and having been the object of her disapproval before knew that he didn't want to disappoint her. He nodded quite rapidly.

"Don't worry, mate," Ron said to Teddy as the remaining Weasley brothers began to slowly drift out of the room, calling goodbyes, "I need to stay clean all day too."

"Don't know how you'll manage," Harry noted solemnly as he saw Charlie out the door. The remaining men laughed, as sunlight poured in through the high lightwell beside the sink.


	2. Chapter 2

_Author's note: Hey guys! So I was very pleased by the response I got from the first chapter and decided to rush the second. Let me know what you think. Also, as I forgot to put it in the first chapter, I own absolutely nothing. _

"You ready, mate?" Ron asked, clapping Harry on the shoulder as Harry adjusted Teddy's tie.

"As I'll ever be, I suppose," Harry replied, fussily flattening his godson's hair. The little boy looked quite annoyed at this, his formerly cerulean blue hair turning a less attractive shade of green. He felt like a mess, nervous for a reason that he couldn't even place. He knew that Ginny would be there, and that everything would be fine, or so he told himself. But another voice in his head kept saying that he wasn't even supposed to live to see his eighteenth birthday, why should he expect anything more? He knew that he didn't deserve Ginny, he just hoped that she didn't know it as well.

Ron chuckled, seeing through Harry's outer calm, "You'll be fine, mate." Harry straightened out and looked at his best friend, a little annoyed by his jovial state when Harry was such a nervous wreck.

"Is your best man toast done yet?" He asked, cocking an eyebrow at Ron. He had asked him the same question last night and been told that he hadn't even started it yet. Again Ron nodded, smiling.

"Finished it while you were in the shower," he tapped his breast pocket, where his best man notes were currently residing. He smiled broadly at Harry's scowl. "Honestly, mate, I don't know what you're all in a tizzy about."

Harry snorted, "When you finally get around to asking Hermione, you'll know."

"We're taking our time," Ron retorted. Harry shook his head.

"You're being a scaredy cat."

"You sound more and more like my mum every day," Ron replied, shaking his head back at his best friend, and smiling again.

"I honestly don't know who's happier about this marriage, me or you," Harry commented as Ron led the way out of the master bedroom of 12 Grimmauld place, where they had been making their last minute adjustments. Neville met them on the stairs, smiling broadly at his friends. He and Hannah had just gotten engaged, and seeing Harry a nervous wreck, he couldn't wait to be one himself.

"What's not to be happy about?" Neville asked as they all cluttered the landing, Teddy having wriggled out of Harry's grasp and sat himself down on the dusty floor, soiling his good trousers, and causing the other three men to pile up behind him, urging him to move.

"Nothing at all," Harry replied, prodding his godson gently. "I'm elated."

"You don't sound elated," Ron noted, still smiling, "You sound right nauseous."

"I feel right nauseous," he returned in an undertone, finally pulling a struggling Teddy back into his arms. "What if she leaves last minute?" The question wasn't a serious one. He knew that Ginny wouldn't do that, but still it was a persistent fear in the back of his mind and he found Ron's laugh after he asked it reassuring.

"My sister?" Ron said through giggles, "Who pined after you for _years_?"

"Well, maybe she's had a revelation, realized I'm not worth the trouble," Harry defended taking the last few steps and then taking a moment in the entranceway to his house to brush the dust deftly off of his godson's good clothes.

"Oh," Ron snickered, wiping a tear from his eye, "you two do deserve each other."

"What does that mean?"

"Oh, nothing, mate," Ron muttered back, heading to the floo in the kitchen. Harry watched his best and oldest friend disappear into the green flames and let Neville go before him; they wanted the women at the burrow to have as much warning of his presence as possible. Molly was adamant that Harry would not see Ginny in her dress before he walked down the aisle. Neville clapped him on the back in a brotherly way, saying, "I'm sure you have nothing to worry about. I mean, if Ginny wanted to leave you, she had plenty of time to before now," before flooing to the burrow.

Strangely, Neville's blundered reassurance made him feel better. It was true, they had been engaged for months and if Ginny had any real qualms about their relationship then she would have broken it off before they got to the altar. She would never intentionally hurt him.

"You ready, Ted?" He asked, setting the boy down and looking him in the eye. Teddy had lived with him full time for almost a year, and though in reality the change had really amounted to him going from spending three nights at Harry's to spending four most weeks, they had both felt the shift. Andromeda was getting older, and Harry had suspicions that she couldn't properly handle Teddy anymore. Andromeda had agreed that maybe it was best if Teddy lived with Harry, even admitting that she had felt rather overwhelmed with the toddler since had learned to walk. The first few weeks had been difficult, as both Harry and Teddy began to adjust to a new schedule and situation but they had fallen into a routine that seemed to work for both of them. Harry had worried about bringing Ginny into the mix and disturbing the delicate balance that they had achieved but Teddy had reassured him repeatedly that he loved Ginny and would love having her in their house.

Teddy nodded, "I'm ready," and then he held out his small hand to his godfather, and together, they stepped into the flames.

Ginny held her breath while Hermione finished lacing up the back of her dress. She wasn't worried about the dress's fit, they had been to Madam Malkin's enough over the last few months of planning to know that the tailoring was perfect but was still relieved when Hermione declared her finished. She spun to see Hermione looking at her with a critical eye, as if deciding if she was ready to be presented to her mother. Mrs. Weasley had been upstairs to check on them intermittently over the last few hours of preparation and she had always seen something to pick at or adjust between the three of them. Hermione and Ginny were both a bit exasperated with Molly's incessant picking; Luna appeared unfazed.

"Should I call her up?" Luna asked from by the door. The three of them were dressed, hair and makeup done. Luna and Hermione looked fantastic in their light purple gowns, and looking at the mirror above her old dresser Ginny couldn't help but think that she didn't look half bad either.

"Do you think Harry will like it?" She asked, smoothing her already smooth skirt absently.

"Oh, Ginny," Hermione replied with a chuckle, "Harry would like you in a potato sack, honestly!"

"You do look really nice," Luna said, smiling at her friends.

Ginny smiled back but couldn't help the growing knot of anxiety from spreading into her stomach. What if he didn't show up?

Hermione walked up to her friend and fixed a small mascara smudge on her cheek, before stepping back and examining her handiwork again, "That's perfect!" She declared suddenly, "Stay just like that, I'm going to get your mother!"

Hermione raced downstairs, calling for Mrs. Weasley. She entered the kitchen and nearly collided headlong with Harry who wheeled out of her way, picking up Teddy to keep him out of the collision zone. "Oh, Harry!" She said, surprised but pleased to see him. "Oh, you look fantastic! Wait until you see Ginny!" She gushed happily, smiling brilliantly at Harry. He smiled back, looking slightly paler than was normal.

"Oh, no, you don't!" Mrs. Weasley's voice came from the back door, where she stood with Andromeda Tonks, "_You_ are not supposed to be inside," she said pointing to Harry, "And _you _are supposed to be upstairs!"

Harry and Hermione both stuttered over excuses, acting as though they had been caught in some awful criminal activity and not just walked into each other in the kitchen. Mrs. Weasley shook her head at both of them and sent Harry outside. Andromeda picked up her grandson and balanced him carefully on her aching hip; the war had left her feeling ages older than she actually was.

"What was it that you needed, dear?" She finally asked, looking out the window at the fairly large group of men that were watching as Harry, Neville and Ron took a few photos together. She could hear George's voice, his words indistinct, followed by a loud laugh from everyone else. The other group photos, the women and the entire family, along with Harry and Ginny's pictures would be taken after the ceremony, as the sun was setting.

"Oh," Hermione replied after a long moment, still surprised by her best friend's sudden appearance. "Yes, Ginny's ready."

At that Mrs. Weasley jogged up the stairs merrily, as a much younger woman might. Andromeda and Hermione followed at a more reasonable pace, Andromeda letting Teddy down as they reached the stairs. "My back's not what it used to be," she said as explanation, watching little Teddy run up after Mrs. Weasley. "Don't know how I'll manage while Harry's gone." She sighed, smiling all the same. She was looking forward to some extended alone time with her only grandson. She had been relieved when Harry offered to take him, but she still missed the little guy.

Hermione was about to offer help when they got to Ginny's room, and both could hear Mrs. Weasley crying on the other side of the door. Teddy was standing outside, wide-eyed and looked back at his grandmother for help. Andromeda and Hermione shared a look of concern before Hermione bravely reached forward and pushed the door open.

Luna was holding the older woman in a tight embrace as Mrs. Weasley blubbered. Ginny looked somewhere between tears and complete irritation at this display. "Oh, dear," Mrs. Weasley said, pulling away from Luna and dabbing at her eyes, "I don't know what came over me."

Andromeda walked forward and rubbed Molly's back soothingly, "I know. I did the same thing when I saw my D-Dora," she stumbled over her daughter's name and Molly reached down to squeeze her hand.

"She's just so beautiful," Molly explained, dabbing her eyes again and sighing. "I can't believe that my youngest child is getting married today."

"Don't you start again," Ginny said warningly, not even daring to think about what a wreck her mother was likely to turn into at the actual ceremony. Teddy had wandered over to where Ginny stood by the window, looking up at her with rare shyness.

"You look pretty, Ginny," he said as she held out a hand to him and he took it, squeezing warmly.

"Thanks, Teddy," he smiled at her bashfully. "You look awfully nice." The little boy's hair lightened in pleasure at the compliment and he pulled at his jacket without looking at Ginny, as if saying "What? This old thing?"

"Oh, Teddy," Andromeda said, as if just now remembering her grandson's presence. "They're going to want you for pictures, I almost forgot."

"Just let him stay with us until they come looking," Ginny said, still smiling down at her soon-to-be husband's godson.

"I'm afraid I may have scared Harry off. They're likely to wait until we send him down." Her mother replied, pulling Teddy by the hand towards the door. Andromeda took over from there and took the little boy from the room, smiling back at the other women before disappearing down the stairs.

"Harry was here?" Ginny asked, her heart jumping into her throat for reasons she couldn't exactly explain. Of course Harry was here! She could hear the voices of her brothers through the open window, and she knew that he was out there somewhere in the yard with them, though she couldn't see them from the window.

Her mother smiled sheepishly, "Yes, he was in the kitchen for something. I snapped at him and he scurried back out."

"He looked marvelous," Hermione put with a grin.

"You _both_ saw him?" Ginny exclaimed, sounding very much like a small child that had been cheated out of something.

Her mother and Hermione both looked at her with poorly contained smiles, "You did see him yesterday, didn't you?"

"Well, yes," she conceded, eyes narrowed, "but it's not as if today's just any day, is it?"

"No," Luna said, stepping into the conversation for the first time, "It's not."

That statement, as obvious as it was seemed to give them all pause. Ginny stood, enjoying the sensation of the sun on her back and wondered about how one thing could so easily lead to another. One day in late summer, her brother had sat next to Harry Potter on a train, and now Ginny was marrying him. She made a mental note to thank Ron for that simple decision that had changed all of their lives in so many ways before stepping forward and hugging her mother. She hadn't hugged her earlier in fear of having her tears soil the dress, which they had gone through so much trouble to be sure was absolutely perfect. Her mother reciprocated the hug, thankfully without tears and whispered something about being proud of her.

There was a brief knock, forcing everyone in the room from their ruminations as the door swung open, revealing a rather put-together Arthur Weasley, "Fifteen minutes, ladies," he called before catching sight of his daughter and stopping. "Oh, Ginny," he marveled, walking into the room, which was now very full of bodies. "You look fantastic."

"Thanks," she replied, reaching a hand out to him and squeezing once she had it, just as she had done with Teddy. "So do you," she added, remembering her manners.

He shook his head, and smiled, "Are you about ready?"

She nodded, "Entirely. You?"

He shrugged, "No, not at all. I doubt that I ever would be."

"It's just Harry," she began, feeling the familiar exasperation that she had gotten from spending the day with her mother's mood swings.

"Oh, dear," he said, shaking his head, "I know. But… you'll understand, one day, when you and Harry have to give away _your_ little girl."

Ginny laughed, "Let's not get ahead of ourselves."

He coughed, hiding his impending tears, and squeezed her hand again before letting it drop, "I'm going to go down and make sure everything is going smoothly. I'll come get you, when it's time." He smiled again and then turned and left the room.

Ginny smiled at the women left in the room, and they smiled back, feeling the happiness coming off of her in waves. _When it's time,_ Arthur Weasley's departing words ricocheted around her mind and she felt a thrill of fear and excitement, knowing that it would very soon be time. Time for her to be Mrs. Potter, for the rest of her life.

Standing by the window, she could just hear faint cracks and pops as guests began to arrive outside the gate, their cheerful voices floating up on the wind to her bedroom.


	3. Chapter 3

_Author's note: Just wanted to slip in here and let y'all know that I own nothing at all. I figure, one more chapter after this one. Ah, oh well. Writing this story makes me smile, and I hope that reading it might make you smile as well. :D_

Harry and the other men spent the rest of the time before the ceremony in the burrow's yard, taking photos. It was a dull process, and Teddy was quickly bored. Ron soon challenged him to change his hair to a different color in every picture, and Teddy happily obliged switching his hair between cool and pleasant shades of blue and green and more volatile reds and yellows, much to the photographer's amusement. Soon after, guests began to materialize just outside of the Burrow's limits and people had to be greeted.

Harry was standing just inside of the marquee, laughing at some joke of George's when he was swept up very suddenly in a tight embrace. Hagrid was already crying quietly and patting Harry on the back, muttering something about carrying him out of the wreckage of his house as a baby and now attending his wedding – who would have thought?

"I know," Harry said as Hagrid released him, "It's strange isn't it? Never thought that I'd make it this far." He gave a nervous laugh, hoping to keep Hagrid from breaking down in tears again before the ceremony.

"I knew yeh would," Hagrid replied, wiping his eyes with his great spotted handkerchief. "I always knew yeh would." He patted him on the back, almost making his knees buckle before following George to his seat. Harry turned back to the line of people forming out of the marquee, surprised to feel moisture in his eyes at Hagrid's words. He blinked them away as he met with, surprisingly, Minerva McGonagall.

"Potter," she greeted him, smiling tightly, "Er—Harry, I suppose we've graduated to first names."

Harry smiled back, "I suppose so, pro—Minerva." He had to correct himself. They had met a few time over the last four years, each time both of them telling the other that first names were more than sufficient. Still, old habits were hard to break. "I'm glad that you made it."

"I was very pleased to be invited," she replied, smiling again. "I expect that security's been an issue?" She gestured to the pair of aurors stationed at the gate, in uniform. There were several other ones strolling about the yard, colleagues of Harry's.

"They didn't give you a hard time, did they?" He asked, switching to what Ginny called his auror mode for a moment. His tone became a bit more authoritative, his eyes narrower. He was ranked above the two at the gate, and the word of Harry Potter held a lot of weight. He wouldn't let Minerva McGonagall be mistreated.

"Oh no," she said, waving him down with a chuckle, "I just ask because I've never been to a wedding that required actual auror presence before."

"Yeah well," he grinned sheepishly, back to his normal self, and ran a hand through his hair. "Just don't want anyone coming up to spoil the day for Ginny." She nodded at him knowingly. While her first thoughts (and she suspected Harry's too) would always go to death eaters that still harbored a great deal of ill-will for Harry and his friends, she knew that the more reasonable threat was from reporters, liable to sneak in. The couple had been adamant that no reporters were to be present and that had caused a bit of a media uproar. The Quibbler would be the only publication present, and they only as guests. This was a wedding, not a public production.

Minerva glanced down the aisle and saw the oldest Weasley boy checking his watch and knew that her time was up. The guests around her had slowly began to drift towards their seats as music began playing, not the bridal march or anything, just encouragement to sit down. "I'm – I just wanted to say," she stuttered as Bill approached and Harry watched her, transfixed by the sight of his old professor tongue-tied, "that I'm really happy for you and Ginny." And with that, she pulled him into a tight and brief hug, that he barely had time to reciprocate before she released him.

"Erm, Harry," Bill said, slowing as he approached the pair, clearly not expecting to see that. "It's about to start, might want to get up front."

"Right," Harry said, relieved to have an excuse to leave. "Thank you, professor. I'll see you at the reception, then." He smiled again, still a bit confused, and then turned and raced up the aisle, eliciting a few chuckles from the guests that were already sitting.

Ron appeared at his elbow and pulled him into a tight, lasting hug that he returned happily. They pulled away, each pretending not to wipe at tears in their eyes, and Ron thumped him once on the shoulder. They had spent years together, saying and not saying important things and this brief exchange was enough to explain everything that both of them wanted to explain. For all of their fights and the lasting awkwardness of dating (and then marrying, Harry realized) his best friend's baby sister they did truly love each other as only good friends, or perhaps brothers, could. And there had been a time when neither of them had believed that Harry would ever live to marry anyone, and the idea of Ron living to that point had been nearly as dubious. They had never been happier to be so thoroughly wrong.

Everyone settled down, the last of the family filing last-minute into their seats as the wedding march started and the tiny toddling Victoire appeared, tugged forward by the insistent hand of Teddy, who looked quite intent on getting to the altar before he had a chance to drop his precious cargo. Victoire appeared slightly haughty at being subjected to such rude behavior and dumped a few petals meticulously out of her little basket every few steps. They reached the altar and Teddy moved to stand beside his Uncle Neville, assuming the same serious posture as the other men at the altar, and getting a few chuckles from the crowd because of it. Victoire gave Teddy a sour look and walked over to her crying grandmother, who quickly accepted her into her arms, as Fluer was much too pregnant to hold her daughter comfortably. Next, Luna appeared. She floated, almost without noticing the people on either side, to the altar. She planted a light kiss on Harry's cheek and then stood on the other side, watching with a vague sort of interest as Hermione began strolling up the aisle, barely concealed tears in her eyes. She also kissed Harry's cheek and hugged him briefly before retreating to Luna's side. The music swelled and Harry's stomach clenched for a terrible doubt-filled second as he waited for Ginny and Arthur Weasley to come into the tent.

Then he saw her, and felt completely relieved. She looked beautiful, more so than he had ever seen her, her red hair fastidiously styled, her make-up minimal enough that she still looked like the girl that he woke up next to most mornings and hoped to wake up to every morning for the rest of his life. And she looked like Ginny, his Ginny, alight with happiness and positively glowing in the sunshine coming through the tent.

Arthur smiled and put Harry's hand in Ginny's when the minister asked him to give her away. He blinked away tears and then found his seat beside his wife. He was giving his only daughter away, but knew that she would be in good hands. He had no qualms about his daughter's marriage; Harry would take care of her. Still, it was a bit sad to see such a conclusive end to his only little girl's childhood.

The ceremony went on without any interruptions. The couple said their vows, and right on cue Teddy appeared at his godfather's side with the rings and a huge smile on his face. Harry couldn't help but grin back at the child, who positively glowed with the knowledge that he had done his duty well. They exchanged rings with shaking hands and as the minister said "You may kiss the bride," everyone in the marquee seemed to be in tears. The kiss was passionate and lasted a few seconds longer than was polite, eliciting a few awkward titters and a catcall from Seamus Finnigan. They resurfaced, red faced and smiling as the flustered minister said, "I present, for the first time ever, the new Mr. and Mrs. Harry Potter!"


	4. Chapter 4

_Author's note: The very last one! This was definitely the hardest one for me, so I'm sorry for a little bit of a wait here. I also realize that I visited the 'I'm a Potter now' issue a bit more than necessary here, but I wasn't sure how else to bring about these conversations. But whatever. Thanks for sticking with this for four chapters, I know that it's a little sickeningly sweet, so I appreciate that you've put up with it. ALSO, I do not own anything. _

Ron smiled at his best friend and little sister as they swayed on the dance floor. Ginny was giggling madly at something that Harry had said and as they turned he could just see his best friend's face partially buried in Ginny's red hair. Their eyes met and Harry moved his head away enough to grin back at him. Ron had never seen either of them so happy before.

Hermione's hand slipped into his. "Have you ever seen Harry smile so much?"

Ron shook his head, "I was just thinking about that. Do you think we'll look that stupid when we finally tie the knot?"

"Ron! They don't look stupid, they look in love. And I hope we look in love if we ever do get married." She grumbled the last bit, watching her two best friends laugh at some shared joke as their first dance ended.

"We'll have our day," he replied in the same serene tone in which he had earlier told Harry that they were taking their time. "Soon."

"Soon?" She sounded hopeful and Ron's stomach flipped a bit at the thought, but he still nodded.

"Soon."

She sighed contendedly, leading Ron out onto the dance floor by the hand as the music changed. "Have you got your speech prepared?"

He nodded, "Done, every word."

"Really?" He smiled at the surprise evident in her voice.

"Yes, really, you sound nearly as shocked as Harry did." He paused, dipping his girlfriend, and said conversationally, when she was back on her feet, "What about yours?"

She nodded, "I think that they'll be very pleased by it."

"Of course they will be," he smiled, a bit nervous about talking in front of so many people. Still, glancing around, he assured himself that it would all go perfectly fine. He knew everyone there, except perhaps a few of Ginny's teammates, but really they had managed to keep the guest list as low as possible. He hoped that this was one of the many notes that Hermione took from this wedding when they finally did start planning their own.

Harry and Ginny moved around the marquee, shaking hands and smiling and accepting congratulations from their friends and old classmates and colleagues. The Minister himself was there, attracting a few startled stares from Ginny's teammates, who didn't know about the couple's relationship with Kingsley. In a startlingly rare moment of quiet Ginny turned to Harry, who had been watching her Great-Aunt Muriel argue with Dean Thomas with a great deal of amusement, and said, "You know, I am a Potter now."

He nodded, "Percy would say that you aren't technically a Potter until the paperwork gets processed down at the ministry."

"Well," she paused, looking back at their friends and family and searching out that particular brother, "he would be wrong."

"Yes," he said, wrapping his arms around her middle and whispering the word in her ear, his breath tickling her neck and making her giggle. "I suppose he would be, Mrs. Potter."

She turned, rising on her toes to meet his lips, "I could get used to that," she commented against his lips. He chuckled.

"I suppose you'll have to," he replied through the kiss, not breaking contact. There was a rather loud cough from behind them and they both turned, to see Ron, red-eared and embarrassed.

"What do you need, Ron?" Ginny asked, exasperated that everyone seemed intent on interrupting them. She had already taken photos and circled around the tent and said hello to everyone, when was she going to just get a moment alone with her husband?

"Mum wanted me to tell you two that we're about to eat and make toasts and all that," he replied, rubbing the back of his neck and looking away from the newly-married couple. This was an awkward situation for him, while they were dating, if he had run into them doing anything besides sitting quietly and not touching, he would lecture them about it, and then when they had been engaged he had always scathingly told them to save it for their wedding night, even though he knew very well that they hadn't exactly saved anything (not that he enjoyed dwelling on the point). Now, that they actually were married he didn't suppose that he had a leg to stand on with the whole "brotherly disapproval" thing.

"Right," Harry said, breaking the awkward silence and leading Ginny back to their table by the hand.

After dinner, Hermione spent a few minutes surreptitiously jabbing Ron in the side with her elbow in a way that he supposed was meant to be encouraging. Finally, after a rather sharp poke and a knowing look sent to him from two tables away by his mother, he stood. When no one quieted down, he looked down at Hermione, panicked, "They're still talking," he hissed at her, glancing sidelong at Harry, who seemed entirely more interested in Ginny than in Ron or the rest of the party.

"Tap on your glass," she hissed back. Confused, he began hitting his glass with his fingers, and wondering why on earth this was supposed to shut anyone up, looked again to Hermione for help. She rolled her eyes and tapped her own glass with her fork, and this, coupled with Ron standing at the front of the tent, seemed to get sufficient attention that everyone slowly stopped speaking and looked to him, waiting for his great speech. He felt a sudden swooping sensation in his stomach, something akin to what he used to feel when he feel with people's eyes on him on the Quidditch pitch, something like stage fright.

"Er- hello," he said, looking over all of the familiar faces and wondering why all those months ago he had agreed so quickly to be Harry's best man. It had seemed like such an easy thing to do, stand beside him during the ceremony, say something nice during the reception. Even that morning it had been easy to make fun of Harry about nerves but now Harry was smiling up at him, serene as anything and Ron could feel his palms sweating and a red blush creeping up his neck. "I'm Ron, if any of you didn't know." There was a brief chuckle that rippled through the room, and Ron's confidence grew a bit, he pulled his crumpled notes out of his breast pocket and took a moment to glance through them before looking up again.

He cleared his throat, "I've known Harry since we were eleven. We met on the train to Hogwarts, and kind of hit it off. We've been through a lot, him and me. He's my best friend, and he's been a part of our family in everything but name since I brought him home the summer before our second year.

"And Ginny, well, Ginny's my baby sister. My _only_ baby sister. And as much as she hates it, she'll always be the only baby sister, and she'll always have her big, annoying, git brothers looking over her shoulder and making sure that she's alright. And I have always prided myself on being the worst of them, especially where dating is concerned.

"So imagine my dilemma when Harry and Ginny started dating. I mean, I love Harry and everything and I want him to do well with the ladies, but that's my sister! My _only_ sister!" He pointed to Ginny for emphasis, and a chuckle rippled through the tent, "And I mean, I looked at Harry like a brother, and Ginny actually is my sister, so it had never occurred to me that their feelings might be… different. The whole thing made me uncomfortable, honestly. And I was sure that it wouldn't last." He looked up again, sharing a look with his audience that clearly said, 'boy, was I wrong,' before continuing, "Clearly, I'm not that bright when it comes to things like this."

He paused, clearing his throat again, "I realize now, that I was wrong. What I assumed to be hormones on Harry's part and hero-worship on Ginny's was actually something entirely different. I've never seen either of them happier than when they are together, and maybe I don't need to worry so much about Ginny anymore. I mean, the man that saved the wizarding world is _probably_ capable of keeping track of my sister." He emphasized probably, as if he was still dubious, "And my fantastic little sister is probably capable of keeping track of my best friend.

"And I guess that my whole point in this mess of a speech is that this wedding doesn't really change anything. And I am sure that my mum is glaring at me right now, but just think about it for a second, it's true. Harry's been family since he was eleven years old, and this wedding doesn't change that. They've been practically connected at the hip since the war ended, as well and I doubt that they could grow a lot closer now that they have the same last name. Which I guess is the only state you should be in if you're going to get married, you should be so close and so in love that it almost defeats the purpose. Almost.

"I know that I'm rambling now, so I'll get to the root of the matter, and you can all drink, which I know you're waiting for," there was another brief laugh at the weak joke, "Harry and Ginny, there are a lot of people here that love you both a lot, and I'm happy to be one of them. I know that there are a lot of people that aren't here, that couldn't be here," he paused, letting everyone silently list the names, "and I'm sorry about that, but I know that you two will be more than enough for each other and you have plenty of family to bother you besides." He raised his glass, and everyone in the tent did the same, "To Harry and Ginny, may there be nothing but happiness for the both of you."

Ron knocked back most of his drink as everyone around him chorused "Harry and Ginny," before doing the same. Harry and Ginny were both smiling at him, and somewhere nearby he could hear his mother blowing her nose, which, he thought, was odd because he had intentionally tried not to be too soppy. That bit about people not being here might have done it, he reflected, looking up in time to see Hermione standing with much more grace and composure than he had.

"Harry and Ginny are my two best friends." She stated, smiling broadly at the newly-weds who grinned back, "I met Harry when we were eleven, at the same time that he met Ron, and we all became really close. Harry was really my first good friend in the wizarding world, the first person that I met, maybe ever, that didn't have expectations for me to meet, and without all of the tension that Ron and I have always had," Harry laughed at that, surprising a few people in the tent that didn't see the blush crawling up Hermione's neck. 'Tension' was one way to put it, he supposed, biting back another inappropriate laugh. "And I'm so glad that I met him." She soldiered on, ignoring his chortle, "Because I know that he'll always be there when I need him, and even if he doesn't know what he's doing, he'll do something to try and fix whatever is bothering me." This time Ron and Ginny laughed, both familiar with Harry's habit of just bursting into situations, which had only gotten marginally better after Auror training.

"I met Ginny a few years later. When I came to visit Ron during the summertime I would stay with her in her room, and eventually we became friends. She's brave and smart, and I still have no idea what she went through while we were gone," her breath caught unexpectedly, "But I know that a lesser person would have broken down but she was strong and willful. She did something that none of us could and kept Harry together after the war, and I'll always be grateful to her for that, and a whole host of other reasons.

"We all knew that Ginny loved Harry for years before anything came of it," she said with a smile, returning to a lighter topic, "I think I knew how Harry felt before he did, the same way that he's always known how Ron and I feel. In our sixth year they dated briefly, and I knew that this was deeper than anything that they had experienced before. When they found each other again, the day after everything ended, I knew that they would never be outside of the other's sight without good reason again. When Ginny and I returned to school, without Harry and Ron, she wrote to him at least twice a week, but usually more like five or six times, and he wrote back just as often. And they've only gotten closer. I always knew that this would happen, and I can't imagine two people that more deserve happiness.

"I'll always be around if you two need me," she breathed, her eyes beginning to tear up, "And I'm really happy for both of you. I love you guys, more than you know." She swallowed, holding up her glass, "Harry and Ginny!"

"Harry and Ginny," Ginny said, smiling at her husband, who leaned in to kiss her. There were more speeches, one from Mr. Weasley and one from George, who got plenty of laughs. There were more drinks and more dancing, until almost everyone but family had stumbled out of the tent and disappeared with a loud crack outside.

"Really shouldn't apparate drunk," Ron commented as a particularly inebriated teammate of Ginny's nearly fell out of the tent, giggling madly the entire time as her date pulled her by the hand. The man nodded at Ron's advice but didn't comment, and seconds later they all heard the telltale pop as the pair left.

"Hope she didn't splinch herself," Ginny said without any real concern, surveying the last of the party. Her parents were slowly turning on the dancefloor, the only ones as the band had left nearly an hour ago, but they hadn't seemed to yet notice. Her brothers and their significant others were all still there, scattered about, laughing and talking with glasses being passed between them. Ron, Harry, Hermione and Ginny were all once again clustered around the table where they had eaten hours earlier, Harry leaning back contentedly, hands behind his head, well Ron was arguing playfully with Hermione, her head on his shoulder.

"Even if she did, you aren't playing next week," Harry replied, smiling. The woman had been the reserve chaser, who had been extremely excited for the chance to finally play a real game. Harry and Ginny were leaving in the morning for France, where they would be for the next two and a half weeks, during which neither would work and they would maintain minimal contact with their family back in Britain.

"I don't plan to," she replied, brushing his dark hair out of his eyes, "And if the entire ministry burns down and everyone breaks out of Azkaban, you aren't going to work either."

He raised his eyebrows at her, knowing that if such a thing were to occur, he would probably have to go to work, but still said, "I wouldn't want to anyway."

"Oh, no?" She asked, smiling.

"I'm right where I want to be," he replied, being entirely honest. "With you." This earned him a kiss and a long-suffering sigh from Ron.

"Oh shut up, Ronald," Hermione said, slapping him on the arm. "They're cute."

"You say that about gnomes," he replied, rolling his eyes. Harry snorted, and Ron was hit once again.

"You know," Ginny said in a revelatory tone, "There are twice as many Potters right now than there were yesterday at this time."

"I hadn't really thought about it much," Harry admitted, watching Teddy crawl sleepily into his grandmother's lap. How he had managed to stay awake this long, Harry would never know. Victoire was currently tucked away in one of the Burrow's bedrooms, asleep for almost two hours. "Not for a long time, anyway, being the last one."

"Well, now you aren't, mate," Ron replied stoically, slapping him on the back.

Harry shook his head, looking around at the dwindling group in front of him. Hagrid was still in a corner, blathering drunkenly to Percy, who was trying to extricate himself from the conversation with grace. Ginny's parents had just stopped dancing, her mother taking Teddy gingerly from Andromeda, and her father accepting another glass of firewhiskey from Charlie, who was going back to Romania in a few days' time. Somewhere nearby he could hear Angelina cracking up at one of George's jokes, and he smiled at the sound of laughter, which had so recently been so conspicuously absent from their lives. "I might have been the last Potter all my life, but I haven't been alone in a long time."

They all sat there for a moment, contemplating that and how somehow they had all ended up here. "It's strange, isn't it?" Ron asked, smiling because he knew that they all knew exactly what he meant. The other three nodded, smiling.

"It's nice," Ginny said, wrapping her hand around Harry's.

"So this is the happy ending, I suppose?" Harry asked, smiling at her.

"I suppose it is," she replied, kissing him.

"Makes all the crap in the middle worth it, doesn't it?" Ron offered, ignoring his sister and her new husband, and instead looking out at his brothers and their wives and girlfriends, knowing that in the next few years the family was going to explode and his one niece would soon have a great deal of company. Maybe there would even be a few Potters, he reflected, relieved that the idea didn't disturb him nearly as much as he had thought it would.

"Absolutely," Harry said with complete surety.


End file.
